What is Happiness?
by cerespallas
Summary: Quistis and Irvine - Sometimes, happiness is indescribable. Sometimes, you have to go to the end of the world for it.
1. Learn to Listen

**Before we begin...**

Story type: post Sorceress War, Lovers Drama

Genre: Romance

Pairings: Irvine x Quistis, Squall x Selphie

_- About my stories:_

Maybe it's best to say that I never create a perfect character. Everybody has flaws, and if a character has to suffer to make a believable flow, I am sure to make them suffer. Nobody escapes what needs to be done.

If you want a character that never suffers, perfect in attitude and appearance, never sweats, never have their clothes torn from fights or have his/her hair ruined or even a scrape after blowing up the world, my story isn't for you. To blow up a garbage bin, the characters in my story WILL suffer.

If there's any problem with wording and error in my old fics, please mention it, because I do revise everything every now and then. If some stories seem awkward on the first few chapters, please note the publish date, because it was most likely _they were old_. Later chapters of the same fics won't have this issue. Please tell me by PM or review, and I'll be sure to clean them up.

Disclaimer: I don't own FF8. Simple as that.

_ETA 05/05/2008**:** Thank you for my beta-reader **Against Everything**._

_ETA 16 August 2012: Read it again and I saw plenty of errors, so I fixed it up a bit. _

-x-

* * *

**WHAT IS HAPPINESS?**

By Cerespallas

* * *

-x-

**Happiness is….**

-x-

_Am I happy?_

It was the first time Quistis Trepe, the number one instructor at Balamb Garden, had ever thought about it.

She sat on her bed, keeping her pose perfect even though no one else was nearby. Her eyes scanned the horizon of Balamb sky; the sun was about to set. Today was over for her; she'd finished planning tomorrow's class, and it was time to go to bed.

Three months after Ultimecia, she'd thought life would have gotten better.

It did, in a way. She'd gotten her license back, everyone admired her, and the world was at peace once more.

The government had dropped all charges against Seifer. It was a criminal war and he was a war peon, nothing more. Edea was confined to her own orphanage and placed under house arrest for the next twelve years—the best for her and everyone else. No one had really believed that Ultimecia had wholly controlled her; she'd been the front-line sorceress, after all. Squall often visited her.

But Seifer never came back... And neither did Cid. He'd decided to live with Edea, accompanying her through her sentences. Squall was in charge of everything now. He'd grown very busy, and it had started to distance him from Rinoa.

Maybe that was why the girl had returned to Timber only two weeks after the party.

One month after the Second Sorceress War, Squall had sent ten top SeeD to take care of the Timber liberation. Everything had gone well; Timber had finally won their rights.

Rinoa had become the main Timber senator in the Galbadian government, under the presidency of the former General Caraway. She'd never come back.

Then, out of the blue Selphie and Irvine had called it off. She had become Squall's assistant and, unsurprisingly, his girlfriend two weeks later. Everyone knew Squall had always had a soft spot for the cheerful brunette.

Irvine hadn't seemed really upset about it, but he had started to back out of their outings more and more, until it finally got to the point that he never met the gang at all.

Oh, he was still around, he just… didn't want to see Selphie and Squall that much. Quistis often had lunch with him, considering she was also the odd one out now. She also limited her outings with 'the gang' to once a week, and even then it was only fair for old times' sake.

No one really wondered how it ended up this way. Life just went on.

Still, Quistis was not satisfied.

_What is happiness? Why do people crave it so much?_

_Have I ever experienced it?_

Quistis turned her eyes to the door as someone knocked on it three times. She stood up, walked to the door, and opened it slightly.

Irvine stood there, his hat covering his eyes, and smiled slightly. "Hey."

"Irvine." Quistis pulled the door all the way open. "Come in. What's wrong?"

Irvine walked inside her dorm, and Quistis noticed something different. He still wore his duster and chaps, but he also had his brown leather backpack, the one he'd always worn on their adventure, strapped to his back.

"Irvine…?" Quistis stared at the man, who was now gazing at the same horizon she'd watched only minutes before.

"…I'm leavin'," said the redhead, not looking at her. "Got nothin' else here."

"What?" Quistis hurriedly closed the door. "Wait, wait." She locked the door. "Let's talk about this. Why do you want to leave?"

Irvine frowned, still not looking at her. "Why would I wanna stay?"

That surprised her. She'd always thought Irvine loved company and was the one who cared the most about the 'gang'. She started to stammer, "…but all your friends… are here… just because you and- I'm sorry, Selphie, didn't work it out, it doesn't mean…"

Now Irvine turned to her. His eyes were serious. She'd never seen them like this, not even once. "Quis, I'm gonna ask you one thing. Answer me honestly."

"Uh… sure?"

"Friends or happiness?"

Quistis's eyes widened. "…H-happiness?" It sounded like he was taking words straight out of her mind!

"I thought that too," replied the long-haired man. "I'm glad all my friends here. But I'm not happy, so I gotta search for my...happiness."

"Oh-My-Hyne." Quistis stared at him.

"What?"

"Uh-nothing." _How can you put it that simply? I thought about it all the time and all I got was this mood cycle! _Maybe that was why she hadn't been happy; she only _thought_. She never _acted_.

"I'm sayin' goodbye to you," he continued, smiling sadly. "I'm leavin' now."

"Wait, Irvine!" Quistis stood in front of the door, holding her ground. "…You only said goodbye to me?"

"Others won' understand… they _are_ happy."

"A-a-are you implying I'm _not_?"

"Are you?"

Quistis blinked in shock. _He knows…_

"I don' think bein' with happy people gives you happiness, Quis. It's good for a while, but then you get left alone."

_Hyne, there is someone who knows how I feel… _"Irvine, will you...come back?"

"…If I can bring my happiness here, yeah. If not, I'd rather be wher'ver I will be."

"What about your friends then?" That was the only thing holding Quistis back now.

"That brings us back to my secon' question."

_Yeah, Quistis. Which one? Friends or happiness?_

"Are you gonna move or do I havta jump outta window?" Irvine crossed his arms, "Among all of 'em, I don' think you're gonna be the one to stop me."

_This is crazy, Quistis Trepe…this is crazy! You have a good career! Your boss is your best friend! Your friends are your family!_

"Bye, Quisty!" Irvine actually opened up the balcony door and walked to the railing, ready to jump off. Quistis ran to him and pulled his backpack off his back to stop him. Startled, Irvine let go of his bag and turned around in confusion, watching the woman as she held the bag close to her chest.

"I'm going with you!" exclaimed Quistis, her eyes boring straight through him. "I want to find happiness as well!"

-x-

* * *

-x-

"Squall! Squall! Open the door!"

Squall cursed in a low tone, even as Selphie giggled beneath him. They had been watching 'The Chocobo King' while hugging each other. After a while it had become more than an embrace. Maybe they would have repeated the cycle of the Chocobo marriage they'd just seen, had Zell not started pounding on the door.

"Squaaaaall! I know you're not sleeping! Selphie! Open up!"

Selphie couldn't hold her laughter back anymore. Her boyfriend glared at her while reaching for his pants and threw her the yellow jumper. Selphie held her clothes and ran to their bedroom, still laughing hard.

Squall yanked the door open. "This better be important, or I swear to Hyne I'll…"

"Squall!" Zell forced his way in and pushed a note to his chest. "I found this on Irvine's bed!"

Squall held the note in reading range and then frowned while he read the note. "It's…"

"Yeah! I can't believe it!" Zell shook his head. "Can you?"

"… That he wrote in Chocobo footprints?" Squall threw the notes to Zell's forehead. "You know I can't read his writing! Only someone who writes like him can ever even come close!" He crossed his arms and tilted his head while Zell frowned at the note. "What did he write anyway?"

"He's leaving! And when I went to tell Quistis, she was gone as well! She left this!" Zell pulled out another letter, this one written in neatly enough for Squall to read.

"…What?" Selphie ran out of the bedroom, her clothes neatly pulled on. "Where did they go?" She tilted her head and studied Quistis' letter. "…Did she _always_ write that small and packed?"

"That's Quistis's Instructor Mode," explained Zell. "It's a resignation letter. I think she left with Irvine."

Selphie shook her head. "I don't think that's the case… If Irvy wanted to go, he would go alone… Quisty too… they aren't close enough to go together. And… where would they go, anyway? The Galbadia and Trabia Gardens are both ruined."

"…Maybe they weren't leaving as SeeDs," Squall closed the letter and folded it neatly before putting it on the drawer nearby. "It's Quistis and Irvine we're talking about. If they really left together, they're more than capable of doing anything, no matter how unexpected."

"Ooooh!" Selphie bounced up and down in Hyper Mode. "Like, bombing this Garden! And Deling! And Esthar! And become the world's dictator!"

"He said _unexpected_, Selphie, not crazy," said Zell. Her boyfriend had learned to ignore her when it wasn't absolutely necessary for him to care. "Then again… this is Quistis and Irvine… it could happen…"

Squall rubbed his head. "Do we have an important mission, Selphie?"

Selphie turned towards Zell. "Do we, Zell?"

"Hey, he's asking you!"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You're his assistant!"

"Oh. Right." Selphie put her index finger on her temple and thought hard. After five minutes, she shook her head. "…Um… we don't!"

Zell scowled. "…It took you that long?"

While his girlfriend stuck out her tongue at Zell, Squall went into Commander Mode. "Wake Nida up, tell him we're leaving to trace Quistis and Irvine right away. Balamb Garden is mobile again."

_Well, I'm bored, too... _He thought as his two peons scrambled to follow his orders. _Whatever they're doing now, it must be more exciting than paperwork…_

-x-

* * *

-x-

"So…I assume your idea of leaving without trace is booking a train to Timber?" Quistis sighed, shaking her head as Irvine handed her the midnight ticket. "Oh well, we can disappear later from there… why don't we go to Deling instead? It's easier to blend in when you're in a big city."

"I said_ leavin' without trace_, not_ runnin' from the kids_." Irvine held out his hand, waiting while Quistis handed him her orange backpack. "We're not wanted criminals, why should we disappear?"

"…Because!" Quistis handed him her bag before she boarded the train. "You should know Zell and Selphie will run after us!"

"Well I say, let them! We'll jus' stay one step ahead; they're two kiddies, very easy to get distracted over anything that moves."

"That's a cat, not a kid." Quistis sat down on one of the seats, Irvine sat next to her. "So, why Timber?"

"Sightseeing."

"Sight-" Quistis looked at Irvine in disbelief. "WHAT?"

"You don' think we'll get to the happiness straight away, do ya? I don' even have a clue what happiness is!" Irvine yawned, pulling the hat down to cover his violet eyes even more. "So we'll go wher'ver the trail can take us… or wher'ver our money can."

Quistis massaged her temples. "This is crazy… why did I do this?"

"Cause you wanna be happy?"

"No-I think this is impulsive. This is your road, not mine. Whatever I'm doing here?"

"Don' know, but I'm glad you're here," Irvine said. "Wake me when the train gets there, 'Kay?"

"You did not just assume that I'm going to stay awake for the next _five hours_, did you?"

"I did. Thanks, Quis."

Quistis rolled her eyes as Irvine began to drift away. Her seat was next to the window, so she turned her eyes to the view outside. As the train moved inside the underwater tunnel connecting the continents of Balamb and Galbadia, it grew very dark.

_If I stay at Balamb Garden, I score nothing. I've already got everything I ever wanted there. I was the best instructor, next in line to be the Head Instructor, right after Instructor Aki retires. It's just... Not making me satisfied._

_Am I that greedy?_

She had long ago forgotten about her silly crush on Squall. Even when Rinoa and Squall had broken up, she hadn't wished for him anymore. Still, it was pretty sad to see him once again choosing a talkative, easy-to-love girl over her quiet, clammed-up self. It wasn't love; it was just jealousy over Selphie so easily getting what she had once wanted so badly.

She'd never known what made Irvine and Selphie split up. Irvine was not bitter about it, but he admittedly refused to be with the new couple. Quistis could understand his dilemma; he was glad for two best friends, but jealous over his own loneliness.

Maybe, if she stayed, things would get better. Maybe there was someone…

"Quis." The voice startled her. "Hey, wake up, pretty. We're here."

Quistis opened her tired eyes and felt Irvine pull her up from their seat. When had she fallen asleep? She shook her head, sweeping away the blur that always came after not getting enough sleep. Irvine took their bags and waited for her outside the train.

As she began to climb out, Irvine reached up, unconsciously holding her hands so she could easily jump down from the train to the station.

"Thank you," usually Quistis didn't appreciate being handled like a fragile vase, but this was Irvine. That kind of thing was ingrained in him, so she'd learned to deal with it. "So… where to now? What do you want to see?"

Irvine smiled broadly, "to the Timber Owls."

Quistis frowned. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I did not hear you clearly. Care to rephrase?"

"You heard me clear enough, Quis. The Timber Owls. I phoned Rinoa yesterday, and she said she'd be fine with us stayin' there until we know where to go next."

"Uh-okay… I believe we have to split up here. I'll just get back on the train and…"

Irvine shook his head, quickly grabbing the fleeing woman's arm and dragging her out of the station. "She's not that childish, to be doin' somethin' to her ex's frien's. If you wanna disappear, the best place is here. They know how to cover people's tracks."

"Don't you think it's going to be weird? Like we're taking on a big debt that we won't be able to pay later…?"

"It's not a debt. We're leavin' Squall, Quis! Rinoa will be glad to help us!"

Quistis stared at Irvine for a moment. _This man is more than what I think he is._

"Oh…" She shrugged. "Alright. Just…"

"I get it, pretty. If things start to feel weird, we're leavin', 'kay?"

_So, I guess the path to happiness is…_

**_1. Talking with your ex-crush's ex-girlfriend…_**

_Hyne, this is going to be WEIRD. She knows how I felt…_

_Okay, I'll let Irvine do the talking._

-x-

* * *

-x-

"Hey! I'm so glad you're here!"

Quistis smiled slightly as Rinoa stood from her seat behind the table and elegantly walked toward them. She hugged Irvine and Quistis, ignoring the latter's hesitancy.

The Timber Owls now resided in one of the biggest, best houses in Timber, one house away from the Timber Maniacs' office. Rinoa no longer wore her blue sleeveless duster and short black pants. As a senator, she wore a light blue skirt with a pretty frilly blue hem, and her hair was held up in a bun. Her blue suit-jacket lay in her chair, her office desk was full of neatly arranged papers. And she still wore Squall's ring, Griever, on her necklace.

_Hyne… this office is all blue… blue sofa, blue curtains, blue-framed window… blue table, blue wallpaper, blue chair… Rinoa needs some colour arrangement fast…_

"It's been ten weeks since I last saw you two," started Rinoa, her hands waving to the blue sofa. "Come, let's sit. The guards below didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

"Nah." Irvine let Quistis sit first. "They know who we are. They even asked for our autographs. Nice bein' famous."

She chuckled. "Yes, it is. It's the main reason they chose me. Not because I really liberated Timber…" Rinoa tilted her head, for a while reminding Quistis of the girl she had fought beside. "…Is Squall alright?"

"…Whoa, aren' you bein' forward now!" Irvine straightened his hat. "He's cool. Now he's with Selphie."

"Hmmm…" She pouted. "…Oh well, it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway."

Okay, that was not what Quistis had expected to hear. "…Sorry?"

"I mean, he's more likely to choose his old gang rather than me," Rinoa clasped her hands behind her back. "Sooo… Irvine, would you mind retreating to your room now? It's on the third floor. I need some heart-to-heart time with Quistis."

_Wait! HEART-TO-HEART? I'm hoping that's her heart to Angelo's, because… oh, no…!_

"Sure!" Irvine stood, bowed to the ladies and winked at Quistis before he left. If she'd been sure it wouldn't insult Rinoa, she would've been slapping her forehead just about now.

_I didn't sign up for this!_

"Quistis." Rinoa sat next to her. "Do you still dislike me?"

"…Uh…"

"I'm waiting. Ten weeks can get everyone to their point fast, especially me."

Quistis leaned back. "I… do not dislike you."

"I know you liked Squall. I used to be with him, so it makes sense that you'd dislike me."

"But I didn't!" Quistis bit her lip. "In the middle of our adventure, I began to forget my crush... My silly, stupid crush. When I talked or treated you a bit differently from the others, it was because you weren't a SeeD. You weren't on our mission. I just…"

"Felt like I wasn't supposed to be there?" Rinoa smiled when Quistis stared at her in shock. "You do realize that I felt that too, right?"

"You did?"

"Hyne, you really didn't listen to my speech on Trabia's basketball field, did you?" Rinoa leaned back. "I never felt like a part of your team. I had different dreams, different goals… yet I still forced myself to be with you guys… because I liked Squall. I think maybe, if I'd stayed longer and tried harder, he'd be with me now."

"But he was."

"He was. And then I realized I couldn't stay there for the rest of my life." Rinoa nodded to herself. "At the time, it was the hardest choice to make. Was I to be with my Knight forever and keep waiting until he got back from his work, waiting until he had a bit of time and enough energy to care about me?" She shook her head. "I wasn't a SeeD, as you said. At seventeen, it was way too late to apply for one. I have been just a client... And his girlfriend. Plus, even if I'd been admitted to the Garden, how many years would it be before I'd reach your level? It wouldn't be very agreeable for a cadet and the commander of Garden to have a relationship."

"So you left?"

"Just like that? No." She chuckled. "I didn't think about leaving at first, never even crossed my mind! I'd worked way too hard just to let it go. We talked about it a lot. No one else actually disagreed about us; a benefit of being world heroes, I guess. But whenever we'd talk, I'd notice Squall forcing himself just to hear me. He'd be tired, too tired to even smile to me when he got back from work. The conversations I was hoping for would always turn into monologues soon. He would just nod, not even caring about what I'd say."

Rinoa sighed, her hands twirling around Griever. "I decided that me being there wasn't good for either of us. He didn't need me to be there anymore. I still had my dream, and being there… started to hurt. When he was tired and sleepy, the slow conversations turned into angry fights. I used to fight with my dad; I loved Squall too much to go through that with him. When I left, I just packed my things and told him that it was over. He nodded, never tried to stop me. I think he was really glad that I decided to make the first move. I didn't know anything about his job, and he didn't understand my dream. What he needed was someone nearby who was ready for him anytime and understood completely about his work. As for me, I needed to be here... for myself."

Quistis stared at the floor after Rinoa finished. "…That's not what I originally thought about the break-up."

Rinoa grinned. "Yeah, we decided not to explain. No one else would understand, anyway. The past is the past. He's not even my knight any more... But he still left Griever for me as a parting gift."

Quistis frowned. "You don't have a knight now? Isn't that dangerous?"

Rinoa held up her hands and showed Quistis what was beneath her sleeves.

"Oh…" Quistis stared at her arms. "Hyne… you're wearing three Odine Bangles… Isn't that painful?"

"Don't tell anyone about it." The senate stuck out her tongue. "I still want everyone to think I'm a strong sorceress; it helps a lot in politics! At first it hurt, but now… I'm used to it. Now I'm just a normal human, nothing more." She glanced at her watch. "Oh! I've got a meeting in ten minutes! I'm sorry, Quistis, but…"

"It's okay, I understand." Quistis stood up and smiled at her. "…I'm actually glad… about this…"

Rinoa nodded in understanding. "People aren't always what they seem to be. I've learned a lot about that in the past few months. Have fun in there! And if Squall comes…" She smiled slyly. "…I'm still kind of angry about him not escorting me to the train when we broke up."

Quistis smiled, a real one. Somehow she'd begun to feel lighter after hearing Rinoa's story.

And now, she understood why it was Selphie he'd chosen.

_Maybe I should just let Irvine choose our next destination. His ideas have seemed pretty good so far._

She left Rinoa in her office and went to her room.

**_2. Having a deep heart-to-heart with your ex-crush's ex-girlfriend is actually helping..._**

When Quistis opened her door, she stopped her foot from moving inside. "…What are you doing here?"

"Nggh?" Irvine said sleepily from her bed. "Oh, hi, Quis…"

"…What-are-you-doing-here?"

Irvine sat up. "This is my room too… I told Rinoa I was comin' alone, didn' have time to tell her I was comin' with you. Come in, come in. Here, there's still a space. Tired…" Irvine patted a space on the bed next to him before once again putting his head on the pillow and closing his eyes.

Quistis's stare bored into the ceiling.

_I have to tell Rinoa about this…._

She walked outside the room and started heading downstairs to Rinoa's office on the second floor.

_If I hurry I can make it before her meeting. I really want to sleep…_

As she walked down, she heard a voice downstairs. A familiar one.

_Oh… no…!_

Quistis turned around, fleeing back to their room. She barged in and locked the door, her eyes wide.

She turned to Irvine. "Irvine! Wake up! Now!"

"Whaaat…" Irvine rubbed his eyes. "I only slep' for an hour on the train, Quis…"

"Irvine! Squall is here!"

**TBC**

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**Happiness is…**

**When you learn to listen and accept things around you…**

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-x-

A/N: Kinda different from my other story, huh? Okay, let's start…

-Irvine has an accent here. Why? Well, I like it… he's more unique that way. (Maybe I'll put the accent in that story too… hmm…)

-Just for the sake of laugh, I deduced a bit of Selphie's brain… (Sorry!) Believe it or not, she's way more intelligent in Three Minutes Too Fast. (I can't have my main character stupid…) She's still Selphie, anyway.

-Rinoa was sixteen on the game. But the senate is serious business, so I made her seventeen a few weeks after they defeated Ultimecia. Let's just say they trust seventeen more than sixteen… (If Squall can be a Commander, why can't she be a senate? Why?)

-This story is short. I planned it to be three-shots, and light-heartening (duh… after all the talk about angst on the first A/N... Stupid!)

-Why was it that… Irvine was the one accompany her on the journey? Well, you seriously think Zell could have that kind of feelings and want to accompany his former instructor somewhere he didn't even know… write about it! I wanna read it! Squall can't leave (obviously, plus I won't write him being that irresponsible) It's gonna be long story just to make Seifer came back before he went again, and if he did, he won't take a girl with him, unless he just got brainwashed (oh! That's another story, hehee…) Irvine is gentle and patient. Really, he is! If I were to go on a journey, he will be the one I chose! Zell might obey Quistis, but he won't be on the same level. Why is it Zell again…?

-Rinoa talked waaaaaaaaay too much (aaaagh) she took almost five hundred words on her own! Okay, don't count… I delete most of it…

- This fiction only has half the length of 3mintoofast. That one is usually around 7000-8000/chapter, because it's a long story. I'm still thinking about putting action event in this or not, but if I do it will be longer than three-shots…

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No, no next chapter: (spoiler) as usual. It's a short one, why do you need it?


	2. Share with Someone

Disclaimer: yes, yes, we all know who own them...

ETA 07/05/2008: thanks again for **Against Everything **who beta-read this chapter!

-x-

* * *

**WHAT IS HAPPINESS?**

By

Cerespallas

* * *

Starring: Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas

* * *

-x-

-x-

"Irvine! Squall is here!"

Irvine woke up instantly. He jumped from the bed and stared at his travel partner. "...Where?"

"He's downstairs. I never thought he was going to track us down this fast..."

The chocoboy walked to the closet and drew out their backpacks. "He foun' all the chocobo forests n' even flew to Chocobo Heaven with a gold one, n' you're sayin' you never thought he'd find us this fast?" He pointed to the balcony. "We're goin'."

"This is a third floor, Irvine!" Quistis held up her hands in a clear refusal. "What is it with you and this jumping-off-the-balcony act?" She pulled her body back even as the chocoboy pulled her hands toward the balcony. "I'd rather live, thank you very much...!"

Irvine pulled the former instructor along with trained ease, something she never expected from the gunman. "I brought some GFs to help me on the way, n' I'm usin' some of them now."

"You... You STOLE the GFs from Garden?!" Quistis shut her eyes, muttering curses. "Hyne... I'm really running with a criminal..."

"We helped Squall when he was gatherin' some of the GFs, Quis. We got the same rights to use 'em, or even own 'em, for that matter."

Irvine pulled out a whistle from his duster pocket and blew it, causing a long whistling sound. Quistis watched him in confusion.

The bird's cries filled the air shortly afterward.

-x-

* * *

-x-

"I know they are here." Squall batted away the hands of a guard who was trying to stop him entering the mansion. "This place already smells like ammunition oil and apples."

"But, Sir! We have solid orders not to let anyone through! This is the senator's residence; please give her some respect..."

Squall raised one eyebrow at the soldier, who promptly shrank under his gaze. "I'm supposed to be part of the senate and live here, unless the Timber parliament forgot about that already. Now call your so-called-Senator, I need to bring my escapees back to my school."

"No need to, Squall. I'm here." The commander turned to the stairwell a few meters from the front door. Rinoa leaned against the right railing, standing halfway up the stairs. "Now, can you please bless the "so-called-Senator" with your gracious presence?"

Squall had come alone, but his peons would be coming soon after... Provided the Garden had parked correctly.

"...Rinoa?" He frowned. "...You look—"

"Squall!" Zell and Selphie came running inside the mansion, ignoring shouts from the gate guard. "Are they here? Whoa! Rinoa?!"

The elegant young senator waved to the trio. "Make this quick, please. I have an economic meeting in seven minutes."

"—You look old," finished Squall. "We've been separated for ten weeks and you grow old by ten years? Is that an effect of the Sorceress's knight-less condition?"

Selphie's jaw dropped as she stared at her boyfriend in surprise, while Zell covered his own face with his palms. Rinoa's eyes narrowed dangerously at her ex-lover.

"That is the most...ugh!" She threw her hands up in the air. "I should've been expecting no less, I suppose."

"I came to get Irvine and Quistis back. I know they are here."

"How?" the senator asked, inspecting her nails in boredom. "What makes you think so?"

"Just a statement from a ticket seller in Balamb about two midnight tickets to Timber that were purchased yesterday." Squall walked to her. "Are you hiring them for a mission, Miss Caraway? Why didn't you do that through the formal channels as usual?"

Rinoa rolled her eyes. _Dear Angelo, now I know why his friends are running from him._

The commander stopped only one step below her. "I demand that you return my employees and abort this mission. I will contact you through the official channels and confirm the mission; no need to do this secretively." _Except if this is a super-important mission. _The understanding between them, though unspoken, was quite clear.

But the lady waved him away. "I didn't hire them on any kind of mission. Timber doesn't need SeeDs anymore. We're at peace now." _And even if I did, do you think I would tell you? _They shared each others thoughts once again.

"I don't believe you, Miss." _You did this with Cid to get us help you on the silly Kidnapping-The-President mission, remember?_ "I will get what I need to know from them."

_Not that talking to Cid gave me the best SeeDs to liberate Timber anyway. _Rinoa stopped Squall in his tracks. "No. No one enters my house without my permission!"

_Isn't that the same "Not-the-best-SeeD" that became a world hero and then sent ten employees to help you a year later? _Squall pushed her away and walked upstairs.

_Stop it, you barbarian! _She ran to catch up with him.

_Just because I don't wear blue costumes or try to look like a middle-aged woman doesn't mean I'm barbaric._ Squall was already on third floor.

Selphie and Zell followed the strangely silent couple. The tiny girl tilted her head to the third floor as they walked up. "Why do I have a feeling they said more than we heard?"

Zell shrugged as Rinoa's angry scream split the air. "Well, they've got a history together. And they are a former Sorceress and Knight pair; as far as I know, Squall never really cut off his vow to her. They're probably telepathic." He pouted while thinking about it. "When they were together... I often felt that way too. When Squall got sleepy or tired, Rinoa looked the same. They never talked much but I often caught the two of them getting upset with each other or smiling at the same time. Like an inside joke I never heard."

Selphie smiled sadly. "...That was almost like me and Irvine."

"Yeah, it was you two whose connection I noticed first." Zell and Selphie watched as Squall barged through a door at the end of the hall.

"What are you guys doing!?" screamed Squall from the room. Zell and Selphie stared at each other before breaking into a run into the room.

What they managed to see was a blur of mixed brown and peach colours jumping off the balcony. Selphie let out a high-pitched scream, running to the railing.

Squall was already on the balcony, looking down.

Irvine and Quistis landed safely on the back of a teen Chocobo. Irvine sat in front, waved to Squall and grinned in a winning way. Quistis sighed and shook her head, refusing to see her ex-boss.

"Boko!" shrieked Squall, realizing who the chocobo they had was. "Boko! How could you!"

Boko glanced up with one eye. He only chirped softly. "Wark."

"Quistis! Stop this madness at once!" Squall ordered his best instructor, who was still looking anywhere but at him. "What is this mission that requires you two to become secretive and steal my Chocobo?"

"YOUR Chocobo?!" Irvine smirked as he petted Boko's fur. The bird chirped happily. "Who's da one gettin' him to join us? Who's da one feedin' him Gysahl Green three times a day? Who's da one bathin' him twice a week? Who's da one-"

"That's enough," Quistis said, cutting him off. "Let's just go."

"Boko! Who's your master?" dared Squall, glaring at his teen chocobo.

Without hesitation, the three-year-old Chocobo tapped his head on Irvine's hand, chirping sweetly. Squall's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the traitorous Chocobo. "That's it? After all I've done for you!"

"Uh," Selphie piped in, "so what did you do for him, Squall?"

"I..." Squall turned to his girlfriend. "I gave him a home!"

Boko stared at Squall in anger. Irvine raised an eyebrow. "You mean... The Parking Lot? The place where he almost got hit by cars n' breathed foul air every day?"

"Yeah, Squall." Rinoa crossed her arms, leaning against the railing. "A home. And by that, you mean... Like the "home" you gave Angelo, Cerberus and Carbuncle when you put them in the Training Center, where they got chased by T-Rexaurs on a daily basis?"

"Where should I have put them then?" Squall challenged, defending himself. "I couldn't give them dorms. Plus, it saved on broken things, litter boxes, and food bills!"

"I think this conversation is going nowhere," murmured Zell. "Aren't we here for them?"

"Oh!" Irvine raised his hand. "Based on that, I now declare Cerberus n' Carbuncle mine!"

"WHAT?" Squall yelled at the chocoboy. "You took all my GFs!"

"Nope, not all..." Irvine fixed his hat. "I left some for you n' Zell."

"Huh?" Selphie raised her hand. "You left nothing for me?"

"You had four GF in that head of yours already, baby," replied Irvine.

"Oh? Oh, yeah, I did!" cheered the girl.

"If you'd lost some, your head would be way lighter than it is now..." Zell shut his mouth as Selphie understood the insult quickly. "Uh... anyway, Irvine, what kind of mission do you have now?"

Irvine exchanged looks with Quistis. "Mission?"

"Squall said you two must be going on a secret mission! And when you get home you will be punis-" Squall shut Zell's mouth with his hand.

"Oh." Irvine suddenly understood. "Typical Squall, huh..."

"Shut up, Irvine!" Squall pointed to the big ice-cream-shaped building looming above the horizon. "Drive Boko back to the Garden. We'll talk about this later!"

"You know Squall, I have a better idea!" Irvine pointed to his destination: the direction directly opposite the parked B-Garden. "We're on the happiness mission, honey! Buh-bye!" He didn't even need to drive Boko, as the teen Chocobo ran happily on his own.

"Don't follow us, Squall!" Quistis's voice floated back as the chocobo carried them away.

"No! Stop!" Squall watched in disbelief. "My Chocobo! My GFs!"

"Squall..." Zell rubbed his neck. "Maybe you should say 'my friends!' first..."

Rinoa glanced at her watch. "Oh well.. I'm late for my meeting! Now, as much fun as I had, I believe it's time for you three to leave."

"Happiness Mission?" Squall crossed his arms. _Is that a GF or a drug? Perhaps it has to do with some sort of GF-induced happiness? Either it's a very powerful mass-hypnotism GF or a strong addictive drug. Now this is getting interesting..._

-x-

* * *

-x-

"So...where to now?" Quistis kept her hands on Irvine's waist as Boko ran faster than ever. "We not only stole some GFs, we stole Squall's beloved Boko..."

"Boko only became 'his beloved' when it turned out that his car n' Zell's bike needed repairs," informed Irvine.

"Wark!" agreed Boko. How he managed to chirp during his fast run eluded Quistis.

"I wanna go see my Garden," murmured Irvine. "It was never repaired, was it?"

"Well..." Quistis pondered. "We never got any funding and no one could be spared for the repairs. Their Garden pilot got killed and the rest of the students ended up joining us. Squall didn't see any benefit in rebuilding broken Gardens and the circumstances were different than they were in Trabia."

"That's a no, then." Irvine pointed at the giant red metal building, slumped against rocky mountain. "I'm thinking about grabbing some stuff I want."

Boko stopped in front of the immobile Galbadia Garden and then, as he had been trained to be perfect, sat down. Irvine and Quistis stood up with ease, and the big yellow bird nuzzled Irvine's hair with his beak. The chocoboy patted his head and kissed his beak before Boko ran away, back to the nearest Chocobo Forest. He'd be damned if he'd go back to the Garden and that foul Parking Lot any time soon.

"So." Quistis walked beside Irvine, entering the Garden from the front gate. "It seems alright, but it's a bit... sloping?"

"Yeah, they hit the mountain too hard to pull some parts from the rocks." Irvine inspected every part of his old home. "Sloped by thirty degrees, whoop. If we don' hold on to the wall we'll be slidin' down the floor in no time."

Quistis held on to the lower side wall when they entered the hall. "What were you actually doing here, Irvine? I mean, you're not a SeeD. Why did you live here?"

"I was sold here."

Quistis stopped her inspection, turning to the man in shock.

"It's true, I was sold here," Irvine said indifferently. "I'm supposed to be a servant, only I work for free."

"Who bought you? And... Why?"

"You know that Chocobo farm in Winhill? That's my house." Irvine opened the emergency door. "I got adopted at six and was raised there. Always thought I'd run the farm."

"Then..." Quistis followed him upstairs. "What happened?"

"Dad died. We had no mom; all my four brothers were adopted too n' I'm the smallest. So the oldest divided our money n' three of my brothers moved out." He entered the third floor. "But big bro sucked at managin' the farm, so we ran up our debt. The farm was sold by the bank..." Irvine shook his head, smiling as he remembered the past. "...To Martine."

"Martine... you mean, that Martine?"

"The one and only. Big bro n' I got kicked out with nothin' left." He turned towards her. "You see, I'm the best of the five."

"Uh..." She wondered about the change of topic. "Okay..."

"Good at everythin'. I can breed chocobos. Chocobos loves me, I can run the farm just fine except when it comes to managin' money. I can shoot. You know, I was the best shooter in Winhill. I'm also the best lookin'."

"Where is this going...?"

"That's why my brother sold me," continued Irvine. "Big bro offered me to Martine for free. In return he got the farm back for five years. If Martine likes me, big bro gets to keep the farm."

"Hyne..." Quistis gasped. "You mean he sold you as..."

"A sex slave, yeah. Only, Martine didn' swing that way." Irvine stopped in front of the headmaster's office. "I'm just twelve n' a male. He bought the farm for his retiremen' villa, but when he was offered me, he saw me as a pet for life."

"So he agreed..." murmured Quistis. "He can be jailed for that!"

"No proof, no paper. Only spoken agreemen' n' a small thin boy." Irvine's finger travelled along the stitching on the edge of his hat. "Plus, he didn' treat me badly. I did everythin' for him, but there were never bad words or beatin's. He even let me join classes in Shootin'. That's how he knew I was gonna be a gunman." Irvine snorted. "Past is past anyway. I don't hold grudges against him, n' big bro died two years ago."

As the chocoboy opened the office door, Quistis frowned. _Had it been me, I won't have just laughed it off... I can't understand his view of life... He's too gentle to get mad..._

Irvine yelped as someone pulled him inside and threw his body hard against the wall. His eyes squinted as he saw a pointy blade leveled on his throat.

"Irvine!" Quistis walked in and saw none other than Seifer, pointing Hyperion at Irvine.

"Oh, it's just them, you know." Raijin waved to Quistis from his sitting position on the couch. "Hello, Instructor!"

"MORNING," greeted Fujin, standing near the high trophy cabinet.

"Tch, just the pretty chocoboy..." Seifer put down his gunblade and observed Quistis. "What are you two doing here? Does Puberty-Boy wants to claim my home too?"

"...Your home?" Quistis stood there, perplexed. "Have you three been... staying here? For three months?"

"Yeah, lotsa food here, you know!" claimed Raijin. "They left enough food in the freezer to live on for years!"

"Where's Squall?" Seifer looked behind Quistis. "A gunblade match will be nice. This place's starting to get on my nerves."

"You guys..." Irvine moved his aching shoulder. "...Didn' wreck this place, did ya? I just came to get somethin'."

"Nah, nothing else left here." Raijin waved his hand around the entire room. "They took everythin' when they left except the food."

"What are you doing here anyway, sniper?" Seifer piped in, studying the tall man. "I looked through the folder, but there's no file on you in there. What's a non-SeeD doing in Garden?"

Irvine didn't want to retell the whole story once more, so he just shrugged. "I know a place where the Boss put his collection."

"Collection?" This caught Seifer's interest. "What did he have? We looked everywhere..."

"There." Irvine pointed at the trophy cabinet behind Fujin. "Help me move the cabinet, there's a room behin' it."

Fujin walked to Quistis as the three tall boys hurriedly walked to the cabinet and started working on it. The former instructor tilted her head to the silent woman. "Are you guys alright? After the war, I thought you three were staying in Balamb. People said you three were there."

"WERE," replied Fujin, eyes watching the work. "BORED."

"And you're saying here is better than Balamb?" Quistis frowned. "Isn't this place too big and sloppy to live in?"

Fujin shook her head. "ENOUGH."

"I-I'm sorry, I don't mean..."

"NO." Fujin turned her head to her former instructor. "I mean... This place is enough for me."

This was only the second time she'd ever heard the quiet girl talk in full sentences, so Quistis stared her for a while. "Why don't you speak like that all the time?"

Fujin rubbed her throat with her slender fingers. "HURTS." She explained more. "If I talk too long."

"Oh. Oh, I see..." Quistis didn't even notice when the cabinet was moved and a dark hole was shown. The three boys scrambled inside the hole, and Seifer cursed, his head hitting the low ceiling.

"Isn't that curable?" Quistis wondered if bringing Fujin back to Odine might work. He was the best doctor, and healing broken throats might be easy. "I know a doctor..."

"S' OKAY," said Fujin, stopping her. "They accept me."

Quistis stared at Fujin's back as she walked to see what was behind the wall.

_She does look content, though. Is being with her brother and Seifer enough for her?_

"Fujin." Quistis watched as Fujin looked at her. "Are you happy?"

"YES," she said without hesitation.

"How come...?" _You live in this sloped building, only the three of you, and no one else knows you're here... How can you be happy?_

Fujin reflected upon her own answer. "I just need them to be... Sometimes people just need someone to share."

"Quis!" Irvine shouted from the hole behind the wall. "Come in, come in! He didn' take it all! Now it's all ours! Come here!"

The boys shouted with joy as the girls entered the small room.

Quistis scanned the room, noticing Martine's wealth inside firsthand. He'd stored a lot of old wine in a small cellar, along with racks of fine hand-watches, expensive crystal balls, rare old books, and leather coats for men.

"He took a few thin's, but not everythin'!" Irvine cheered with glee as Seifer and Raijin paraded around in two of Martine's leather coats. Fujin clapped her hands and smiled as Seifer put a pretty ruby crystal ball in her hand. "I've never been happier than I am now that my Boss wore the same size as me!"

"I don't know..." Quistis still opened her hands to accept a sapphire crystal handed to her, though. "Isn't this considered... Theft?" But, as she twirled the pretty crystal on her hand, her conscience began to dissipate. She was a normal woman, after all.

"Hey, no one else is gonna claim this!" Seifer smirked as he pulled two bottles of wine from the cellar and waved them happily. "I now declare these possessions mine! Let's party, guys!"

-x-

* * *

-x-

Quistis groaned as she struggled to open her eyes, her head pounding like crazy and her body feeling heavy.

_I'll never drink like that again..._

As she sighed and opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the ceiling, so much like her dorm ceiling that she almost believed nothing had happened. She hadn't gone with Irvine on a crazy journey to find something called happiness.

She hadn't met the changing Rinoa, Seifer, and his posse. She hadn't ridden Boko or run away from an angry Squall.

She hadn't... Oh, Hyne! Was that a man's arm on her waist?!

Quistis gasped as she traced the arm back to the sleeping man behind the blanket. The man was hidden beneath the blanket, so she couldn't see his body.

_OH...Hyne... This is not happening!_

Quistis looked down at her own body. Of course, she had to be naked. And of course, they had to be lying on the Galbadian bed, right in the Galbadia Garden room. The bed even sloped, following the sloping floor. Her body was pressed against the sleeping man.

_...Of course, Hyne... Considering how much I call Your name, of course You had to do this to me one day just to test my Hyne-damn faith, didn't You?!_

Quistis searched for her clothes frantically, all the while struggling away from the arm. Oh, there they were: her clothes on the floor behind the door. _Hyne, Quistis, have the good sense not to drink while you're on a journey ever again..._

_Okay, stop blaming Hyne... _Quistis dressed in light speed, which was hard considering that she also had to make sure the sleeping man didn't awaken from the noise. _You should know better to drink four bottles of wine... Not to say the others around you didn't drink more..._

"Oh!" she shrieked, covering her mouth quickly as she turned to the sleeping form on the bed.

_What if it's... Seifer?! Or Raijin... Oh, Hyne! Hyne, Hyne, Hyne! I call Your name thousands of times and this... Is how You test me?_

It figured that, just because she ran away with a criminal, riding someone else's Chocobo, pocketing one of the prettiest bits of crystal she'd ever seen, getting the entire rarest book she'd ever wanted, and now using the most expensive watch in Martine's possession...

_Uh, okay... I never said I didn't deserve it, but..._

Quistis bit her lip as the sleeping form moved. She watched with wide eyes as the man pulled the blanket away from his face.

"...Ungh..." Irvine yawned, rubbing his eyes. "...Mornin', Quisty..."

-x-

-x-

-x-

TBC

* * *

**Happiness is...**

**What you share with someone you care about...**


	3. Accept yourself

Disclaimer: nope, you know it wasn't mine.

ETA 15/5/2008: Thank you for all the one who had reviewed this story from the start to finish. I'm so glad this little three shots actually make you happy. And for my beta reader, **Against Everything**, thank you so much!

-x-

* * *

**WHAT IS HAPPINESS?**

By

Cerespallas

* * *

Starring: Quistis Trepe and Irvine Kinneas

* * *

-x-

**Happiness is…**

**When you learn to listen and accept things around you…**

**What you share with someone you care about...**

**And…**

-x—

Quistis bit her lip as the sleeping form moved. She watched with wide eyes as the man pulled the blanket away from his face.

"...Ungh..." Irvine yawned, rubbing his eyes. "...Mornin', Quisty..."

She let out an unintelligible scream.

**_3. Never, ever, EVER, under any circumstances, sleep with your travel partner!_**

"Trepe?!" Seifer's voice sounded from behind the door. He yanked it open and barged in. "What happened…wh- Kinneas?!"

Irvine cringed, covering his ears so the shrill voice wouldn't ruin his eardrums. "What the 'ell's with you two…?" He arranged his messy hair while Seifer turned towards Quistis in confusion.

"What the hell's with the scream, Instructor? Never see your friend naked?" He shook his head, holding up his hand when Quistis tried to explain. "Never mind, woman. I'm going back to sleep."

Seifer returned to his own room as Quistis looked down at the clothes on her body, then turning her gaze to Irvine.

_What am I doing…? Seifer shouldn't know what happened! _She slapped her forehead repeatedly while Irvine tilted his head, looking at the blonde woman in confusion.

"'S that the new way for killin' hangovers…?" he murmured, dropping his head back to the pillow. "Don' wake me for another hour…"

Quistis glared at the oblivious man, but felt inwardly relieved. She walked outside the room and resisted the urge to run back inside and strangle Irvine.

_We're both at fault in this…_ She walked into the hall and sat on the bench. _But I can't stay on this journey anymore…_

She held her chin in her palms and rested her elbows on her knees. "I should've known this would happen…" she said to herself. "This is Irvine, after all…"

"What's that about me…?"

She looked up. Irvine stood nearby, wearing his brown pants. He was half naked and had his hands in his pockets.

Quistis turned her eyes away as Irvine sat next to her.

"Quis…" he sighed, looking down at his fingers. "…'s that your first?"

Her head whipped around with neck-breaking speed. "…What?!"

"I don' remember…" Irvine's head was still bowed low. "But the bed has some…"

"Stop!" she cut him off quickly. "Just—Oh, Hyne—just… don't mention it!" She quickly stood up. "This journey is over, Irvine! This… this stupid, mindless travel!" She couldn't even look Irvine in the eyes anymore. "I never thought we'd end up like this!"

"You're not Sefie…" murmured Irvine, still not looking up. "'Course it does…"

Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Gritting her teeth, Quistis kicked Irvine in the head with all the strength she could muster.

"AAAAUW!" he yelped, falling back off the bench.

"That is so low!" she shouted, her eyes filling with tears. "NEVER-EVER come close to me again, jerk!" She turned around and ran outside.

_This journey was really a bad idea._

"Quis!" Irvine quickly caught up with her at the front gate, his hand grabbing her arm. "Quis, I didn' mean it like that!"

"Let me go!" Quistis snapped her elbow back, hitting him on the chin. "Hyne, you're such a bastard!"

Even though his head was spinning fast, Irvine still refused to let go. "Listen to me first!"

She stomped on his instep, and he shouted out in pain.

"Quis! Aaah! Damn it!" He avoided the punch to his face and quickly let go of her arm. "Okay! Okay… listen! I didn' mean to compare you n' Sefie!"

"Of course you didn't!" she shouted, quickly wiping away her tears. This was not what she wanted for her first time! "You're such a bastard!"

"No!" Irvine shouted back. "I didn' compare you two 'cause there's nothin' to compare you with!"

"Oh, but of course!" Quistis threw her hands up into the air. "Because she was the best, right? Why do I even bother…" She wiped away the tears that threatened to ruin her image once more. "Just crawl back to your Sefie, you low piece of-"

"Quis!" Irvine closed her mouth with his hand. "Stop it, 'Kay! I never did it with her!"

Quistis grew bitter with anger. "Because she's that precious! And I'm not…" she finally cried, sitting on the ground. "Hyne… I'm such a… worthless …"

"No." Irvine sat down in front of her, embracing the woman as she sobbed. "Who told ya you're worthless? I'd never!"

"But you didn't even touch her…" she cried. "And you did it with me because you were drunk…"

"Quis." Irvine cupped her chin and looked down at her red face. "I never touched Sefie 'cause I couldn't!"

She frowned. "What do you mean you couldn't? We just did it…"

"That's what I mean." Irvine caressed her face. "Listen… you wanna know why Sefie and I broke up? 'Cause I wasn' even feelin' anythin'!"

Quistis blinked in confusion.

"I loved her, Quis! I never thought there'd be someone I could love that much! But…" He sighed. "We can't do it 'cause I wasn' seein' her as a woman. We tried everythin', even the silliest thin' I thought I'd never do… it still didn' work."

_This is silly… but he just… _Quistis's eyes widened as she slowly understood.

"Then," he continued, "it became a burden on us. I always thought I'd marry her and all, but I began to doubt myself. She said she wasn' good enough, and I thought I was no longer the man I should've been…"

"What happened…?" she whispered, her eyes cast downwards toward the hand that was still caressing her cheeks.

"I cheated on her," Irvine continued with guilt in his voice. "There was a girl who was always flirtin' with me… Sefie didn' like it, she always said I should stay away from her, but she was such a good frien' to me. When I confided in her, she said she understood and invited me to her room, so we could talk more in private… I thought there was nothin' else that would happen. After all, if I didn' even lust after Sefie, how could I with another girl…?"

"Oh, Hyne…" Quistis murmured. "You slept with her…"

He nodded. "It was the worst day of my life, when I realized what I did… It's all my fault," he laughed in a bitter tone. "When I confessed what I did to Sefie, she ran to Squall. That same night Squall confronted me. He said if I couldn't make Sefie happy, I should give up on her. I did."

Irvine kissed her forehead. "Let's move on, Quis. We still got a long way to go." He stood up, leaving her to her own mind.

-x—

-x—

"You sure you wanna go this soon?" Seifer and his posse stood at the front gate, to see them off.

"Well, Squall might be followin' us, so there's no tellin' if we'll ever get to our next destination…" Irvine said, his eyes on Quistis, who stood far apart from them.

Seifer raised an eyebrow. "Hey chocoboy, did something happen between you two? She doesn't seem glad about this…"

Irvine shrugged. "Nothin' you should care about, Almasy."

"Ah… so something _did_ happen."

"Whatever. Don' tell Squall we were here."

"Of course not. You can tell him yourself…" Seifer pointed to the sky behind the chocoboy. Irvine turned around and saw B-Garden flying toward them.

"Irvine!" shouted Quistis, pointing at the same mobile Garden he had seen.

"What is wrong with the Commander?!" grumbled Irvine, running to Quistis. "Let's go!"

"How…?" Quistis looked at Balamb Garden with mixed feelings. She could just get back now… to her life from before…

That was when Irvine grasped her hand. "Quisty…"

Quistis turned towards her travel partner.

"Not now, Quis. I need you."

"You…" she said with uncertainty. "You… need me?"

"I do." He held her hand to his chest. "I don' wanna go alone. I need you with me."

Her heart leaped. Blinking, Quistis shook her head as if she had just awoken from a daze.

_What happened…? When he said that, I…_

Irvine raised his hands and shouted, "Doomtrain!"

Her jaw dropped. She yelled at him, "What do you think you're doing? You want to fight Garden with a single GF?! No! Forget it, I'm not following…"

"Who said I'm fightin' them? Am I insane?" Irvine hugged Quistis. "Okay, when I say jump, we both jump!"

Quistis frowned. "What?" Then it occurred to her. "You… you want to us to board Doomtrain!"

"Yeah, pretty!" Irvine held Quistis close while the sound of train shook the air. "One… two… three… Dooomtraaaaaaain!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Quistis screamed, hugging her partner for her dear life as Irvine leaped onto the runaway GF, who never stopped even to stack on its two passengers. "Hyneeeeeee!"

"Whooooooohoooooo!" Irvine's voice sounded as Doomtrain passed Seifer's team. "Yeaah, baby!"

"Irvine! I'll kill you!"

"Aaauch! Gwack.."

The three who were left at the front gate watched the GF run full-speed toward the horizon until it disappeared from their view.

Fujin was the one who came around first. "CRAZY."

"Yeah, you know…" murmured Raijin, still looking at the last traces of the runaway train.

Seifer started to chuckle and then laughed out loud. "Whoa! Never thought chocoboy could be that good! He's gonna join us someday!"

"Seifer…!?" Squall, who had just walked down from the Garden, ran to them. "Where are they? What are you three doing here?"

"Oooh…" Seifer sneered to his rival. "Puberty Boy! Welcome to my humble abode…" He opened up his arms wide. "How about a welcome hug?"

Squall narrowed his eyes at the arrogant blonde. "Cut it out, Seifer. Where are Quistis and Irvine?"

"Ya didn't see that?" Raijin pointed to the last spot where Doomtrain had been visible. "They just mmf-" Fujin covered his mouth as Seifer stepped forward.

"They are in there." Seifer waved to G-Garden behind him. "Of course, to get to them, you have to pass through me…" He tapped Hyperion, the gunblade sheathed at his hip. "What do you say, Pubes?"

Squall looked at the sloping G-Garden and then said coolly, "I will, if they survive the fire."

"Fi-" Seifer turned around and watched as the dorm area let out a stream black smoke from the window. "…The hell!?"

"Aaaah!" Raijin screamed as he saw the room Irvine had inhabited the night before go up in flames, "No! Fuu! Our stuff!" He ran toward the Garden. Fujin followed.

Squall started to walk past Seifer, but the blond pulled him away. "No, no, Pubes. They will be fine… now let's start."

Squall shook Seifer's arm off his. "Forget it. I'm not here for a petty match."

"Petty match!" Seifer quickly unsheathed his gunblade and slashed at Squall, who ducked and stepped back. "Let's see how petty I can be, Commander fucking Leonhart!"

He raised his gunblade and stabbed downwards toward Squall, an attack that Squall quickly halted with his gunblade before slashing at him in an attempt at revenge. Sneering, Seifer raised Hyperion and jammed it toward him. Squall blocked the gunblade and pulled his body back, raising his gunblade to fighting stance.

The two gunbladers continued to dance through their familiar moves even as Selphie and Zell arrived at the scene. Squall's two loyal employees looked at their boss, who was now so absorbed in the fight he had forgotten their real objective.

Zell sighed and looked toward the slopping Garden. "Sefie… I bet you ten Gil they're not in there…"

"I bet twenty!" replied Selphie, crossing her arms in Squall style. "...Is that smoke…?"

"Fire?" muttered Zell. "Figures… Irvine's gotta be here. Although I'm not sure how burning his sleeping place could do anything…?"

"Ha ha ha ha! Is that the best you can do, Puberty Boy?"

"Shut up, lapdog…!"

Zell and Selphie stared at the two gunbladers while they insulted each other between gunblade clashes.

"Sef…" Zell rubbed his stomach. "I'm hungry… let's go back to the Garden and grab some hot dogs… this could take a while…"

Selphie bounced happily and followed Zell back to their mobile B-Garden, leaving the two fighting boys to their ego match.

-x—

-x—

"President, sir! Kinneas and Trepe are asking for permission to meet you, Sir!"

Laguna Loire glanced up from his comic book as he sat on his comfortable sofa. "Who…?"

"Kinneas and Trepe, sir!" The Esthar Palace Guard continued to salute. "One bruised chocoboy and one cold-looking blonde woman!"

Laguna was still staring the guard with blank look, so Kiros, who was sitting behind the president's desk and signing various documents gave him a clue without looking up. "Sniper and whip girl, Squall's group."

"Oh…Oooh!" Laguna quickly stood up, hushing Kiros away. "Go! Go! Squall can't see me like this!"

"You'd think he'd know about it already…" Kiros yielded his couch to the President, arranging the documents so they looked neat and important. "There, hold my pen and pretend you're busy." He walked to the sofa and, hiding the 'Mighty Lion of Balamb!' comic behind the pillow, sat down on it.

"Okay! Let them in!" Laguna at waved the guard and took a deep breath.

He smiled and nodded in a presidential manner as Irvine and Quistis walked in. "Hello!" He grinned. "Nice to have you two here! Where's your Commander…?"

Quistis bowed to the President. "Hello, sir… he's not with us today."

"Oh." Laguna looked dejected. "Oh well… Kiros, move away." He stood up, hushing Kiros back. The aide rolled his eyes and went back to doing the President's job, while Laguna pulled out the comic and sat on the sofa.

"Sooo…" Laguna took a glance at Irvine, who stood near him. "What happened to your face?"

Irvine tried to smile, but it was lost behind his many bruises. "Um… I fell down?"

Quistis snorted and looked away.

"It happens to me too!" Laguna waved his hands in an ignorant manner. "Sit wherever you like! What's up?"

The two guests sat down and looked at each other before Quistis decided to say something. "We're here to ask for your permission to stay here for a while…"

"Sure!" Laguna went back to reading the comic, taking in the the part where Leon saves Rini from being lost in space. "Lots of rooms here, choose whichever one you want!"

Quistis raised an eyebrow._ That was easy…_ "Are you not interested in hearing our reason…?"

"Nah…" Laguna cooed as Leon hugged his Rini in the Ragny, a space ship they'd just found. "Friends of Squall are friends of mine! Go ahead, make yourselves at home!"

Irvine touched his bruise and cringed. "…Do you guys have spare potions here?" He looked at Kiros, who pointed at the cabinet.

"Sir..." Quistis sighed as Laguna cursed the guards who took Rini away when the Ragny landed on Gaia. "…Sir! Mr. Loire, sir!"

"Wha?" Laguna looked at her. "Yeah?"

She looked up to the ceiling and took a few deep breaths. "If Commander Leonhart comes here, please don't tell him we're here."

"Why not…?" Laguna tilted his head, holding the comic on his chest.

"We're not here on his orders." Quistis stared at the President, daring him to read the comic while she spoke. He didn't. "We came here on our own, on a…" She thought about it for a while, as Laguna tried glancing at the comic page. "Research… We're researching which country has the most people who experience happiness."

Laguna didn't understand any part of it, but he knew better than to make the whip girl lose her patience. "That's cool! My country has uh-" He looked at Kiros, who shook his head at the President's ignorance. "Did we, Kiros?"

The aide glared his president down. "Yes, Laguna. Our country has the most satisfied people among all the countries on the planet. You can read on the data and the overall research work done by Odine in his laboratory, Miss Trepe. We have done a many surveys on topics focusing on the satisfaction and content behaviour of the Estharian people."

Quistis nodded to Kiros, the one who spoke the same language as her. "Thank you, Mr. Seagull. Now Mr. President, if you allow me to-" She threw her hands up, exasperated, as Laguna grinned down to the comic... Leon had just saved Rini from eternal imprisonment! "Forget it… Irvine! Let's go!"

"Go?" Irvine turned around. He had drunk six bottles of potions already. "Yup!" He smiled. His smile shone through his shining face thanks to his overconsumption of the potions. "Sure! Sure!"

"My Hyne…" Quistis held her forehead. "Irv… you're on a potion high…"

"Nooo I'm not! Let's go babe! Let's go! Let's go!"

-x—

-x—

"It's useless…" whined Irvine. "Why are we doin' this?"

Quistis glanced up from her study of Odine's research. They sat in the lab's library, sorting through thousands of research folders. After fifteen minutes, Irvine got bored and, as a result, started to annoy her.

"This is important," she answered, looking at anything that might give away some clues. "It's obvious that the Estharians are widely known for their content behaviour and peaceful life. Why do they have what we don't? I have to know."

"I seriously think this isn' the right way…" He closed the folder, then stood up, stretching. "Well… I'm off to bed now… G'night." As he walked away, Quistis frowned at the wall clock.

_Huh… nighttime already…? We really are spending all day here for nothing…_

Quistis sighed, closing the book and putting her head between her hands.

_Nothing… no clues, no sign of anything… What am I doing here looking for happiness anyway? Perhaps Irvine was right… this isn't the right way…_

She stood up and put the folders back in their respective places before leaving the library.

"Quiz!" Dr. Odine walked up to her. "Found any cluez?"

"No." Quistis massaged her temple. "Nothing in the research…"

"Dat iz very bad…" the crazy scientist scowled. "I want to create ze happinez potion az well…"

"Uh… that's… great to know." She put her hands on her hips. "Listen, I'll get to bed now… If there's anything new, please contact me?"

"But of courze!"

Quistis nodded and walked out of the laboratory, leaving Odine murmuring something about a "happiness experimental subject."

When she was outside, she looked up and saw the dark sky. The town was empty, and although Esthar's lights always illuminated the streets, everyone was clearly fast asleep.

Quistis switched on the transportation circle that could bring her back to the Palace straight away, but changed her mind when the circle arrived.

_I want to walk… maybe I'll think of something…_

She walked from the laboratory, crossing her arms and thinking of everything that had happened since they started the journey three days ago.

_Mostly stupid things… and I slept with Irvine… that's the most stupid of all…_

"Miss…"

She looked to her far left, where an old man in his nineties was smiling at her. She smiled and drew closer to him.

"Yes, sir…?"

"I saw you there. What's wrong?" The old man wore an Estharian blue robe and carried a very old walking stick. His face was full of wrinkles and looked very peaceful. He was short, the top of his head only barely reaching her chest.

"I'm thinking of something," replied Quistis gently to the gentleman. "What are you doing up this hour?"

"Looking at the stars." The man raised his wrinkled hand to the sky. "It keeps me happy."

She looked up. "You can be happy just by looking at the stars?"

"Yes, human beings can be happy just by doing the simplest of things." He smiled when she frowned. "You see, people are always looking for things that make them better than who they really are."

"They are?" Quistis looked down, studying her own boots. "I guess so…"

"What they fail to see is…" He waved his hand at the sky. "...What they really have all along. What nature gives them when they born. What they really have inside of them."

"And what is that?"

The old man stared straight into her eyes. "What are you looking for, little one?"

"I'm…" Quistis gulped, her pulse beginning to beat fast. "I want to be happy."

"Why do you look for something that's already inside you?"

She stared at the gentleman in surprise.

"You see, little one," continued the old man, "people do things because they want to be happy. You're on this journey because you want to be happy. So is your man. But what you, and a lot of people, miss is… you can't be happy unless you accept yourself."

_Unless… I accept… myself?_

"Humans are born happy. As they grow, they lose the happiness they had when they were still young. They become tired and bitter with age, with the sin all around them. They forget how the grass is green, how the sky is blue, how beautiful a star is. How they were born happy, how it's the only thing they were granted with when they first opened their eyes to look upon this beautiful world." The old man smiled sadly. "I always wonder how to make humans understand… how to make them accept themselves again. But I don't really have to try hard."

"…Why?"

"Because, when they understand…" The man pointed at the sky. "...They are ready to go. Humans accept who they are as they grew old. They have nothing to be proud of except their memories. That's when they become who they really were all along. They accept who they are and how things are around them. They are what you call 'wise.' I called them 'sinless.'"

_Is that why old people are so…?_

"You are young, little one. That was why I wondered why you wanted to be yourself at this age. There are not many people of your years who want to find the real meaning of happiness. Maybe that's why I didn't try that hard to give the meaning to you…" He chuckled. "I laughed a lot when I saw what happened with this… let's say... Journey of yours. You're young; you still have a long ways to go."

Quistis's face grew red with shame.

"But if you're serious, my little one… I just gave you the answer." He looked up, smiling at Quistis, who was too stunned to do anything as he held her hands in his own old, cold, wrinkled hands. "Listen, little one… Happiness is not a thing. You create your own happiness…"

Quistis's eyes were full of tears as she tried looking at the man. Her tears blocked her view. When the gentleman released her hands, she tried to grab his hands again, tried to feel the cold and wrinkled hands in hers, tried to believe in what she just experienced.

But the man disappeared. And then, she heard his last sentence.

"By the way, I actually like that you call my name so much… but to do it when you do things with your man is… very disturbing… so please refrain from that when you do it again, my little one…"

-x—

-x—

**_4. Life is surprising. Deal with it._**

Irvine turned his head to the door as someone gently knocked on it. He stood up from his bed and walked to the door.

He opened it and frowned when he saw the crying Quistis.

"Quis…?" He pulled the woman inside his room and held her warm face. _She must have been crying for a long time for her face to be this warm…_ "'S wrong…Quis?"

Quistis buried her face in his chest and hugged him tight. "I just met Him," she said, her voice muffled.

"Him?" Irvine kissed the top of her head. "Who?"

"Him. Him, Irvine." She looked up, her chin on his chest. "Him."

"Uh… him..." Irvine began to wonder if reading so much research had tired her out. "You wanna sit?"

"Nooo…" She sighed, burying her face in his chest again. "I understand now… I'm so stupid…"

"You? The smartest of the gang, stupid?" Irvine frowned. "Okay… who's this man? I hafta talk to him…"

"He's right… I can't just find happiness," she sighed, enjoying the warmth of his chest. "I have to make it myself. The material's already there… All I have to do is mix it."

"Oookay… this jerk we're talkin' 'bout is Odine, right?" Irvine stroked her hair. "I'm gonna skin that jerk alive tomorrow."

She chuckled. "…Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we're both tired now so…" He shrieked as Quistis hugged him tighter. "Pretty, can't… breathe… stop, please…?"

She smiled, looking up before easing her embrace. Irvine sighed in relief. She pecked him on the lips, making him blink in a daze.

"You know," Quistis whispered in his ear, "He called you my man… I wondered if that's another sign…"

Irvine tilted his head as she pecked him again. "…He did?" He bent down, taking her lips in his. "Smart one… just saved his own ass…"

She grinned as his lips let her go. "Well… he also said to refrain from... that... when we do it again, so…"

"Refrain…?" Irvine frowned as she kissed him again. "'Kay… that one I don't understan'…"

"You don't have to." She pulled him in to taste her lips. "It's just… a sign…"

-x—

-x—

"Mr. President, sir! Commander Leonhart from Balamb Garden is here!"

Laguna looked up from his 'Ulti's Doom' comic to his palace guard. "He's here?" He turned towards Kiros, who was signing important documents for his president. "You heard that, Kiros? He's here! He must be here for me!"

"Doubt it," mumbled Kiros as he tried to figure out how to save up some financial spending. "He must be here for Irvine and Quistis."

"Well, whatever it is, he's here!" Laguna ran to his table, pushing Kiros out of the way. "Move! Move!"

"Damn it, Laguna!" Kiros stood up, letting his president put the comic inside the drawer and hold up the documents, pretending to read them. "He's gonna find out sooner or later…"

"Well, when he does I've become his dad already!" Laguna nodded to the guard. "Let him in! Hurry!"

Kiros shook his head and leaned against the nearest wall.

When Squall walked in, Laguna's face shone ten times brighter. The commander blinked, confused at the president's joyous expression.

Selphie walked in after Squall. She shouted with joy as she saw Laguna. "Hello, Sir Laguna!"

"Selphie!" Laguna jumped up from his couch and ran to Selphie. The two hugged and bounced off the floor, laughing happily. "How are you, my dear?"

"I'm fine, Sir Laguna!" replied the cheery girl to her idol. "The Laguna Fanclub is doing great too! Thank you for all your support!"

"Great!" Laguna blinked, and looked at Squall with a frightened face. Kiros slapped his hand against his face.

"Uh… hi, Squall!" Laguna rubbed his own head. "Uh… how do you do?"

Squall crossed his arms in front of his chest, raising his eyebrows at Selphie, who grinned guiltily. "Selphie… I told you to stop the stupid fan club, didn't I?"

"You did?" She sneered, hiding behind her idol. "Uh… I must've been really sleepy back then…"

Squall glared at her, then turned to Laguna. "…We'll talk about this later. Laguna, I'm here to pick up Quistis and Irvine."

"Uh…" Laguna looked at Kiros for support, but his aide looked elsewhere. "I… didn't…"

Squall walked to him, almost in the range of a hug. "Laguna. I'm serious. Did you call them on a mission? Tell me what happened…"

Squall may not have realized his own odd power over Laguna, but the President gulped when he saw his oblivious son come in so close to his arms.

_Must… not…._ Laguna steeled himself. _I promised her… must… not… tell…._

"Laguna?" Squall walked closer, now standing in front of him. "Where are they?"

-x—

-x—

"Quis…" Irvine spooned on her, arms holding her tight. "Ya awake yet?"

Quistis opened up one of her eyelids, her arms reaching back to pat his head. "Go back to sleep, Irv…"

"Um…" He snuggled his nose against her neck. "Not to ruin this kinda moment, but this is mornin' already…"

"Yeah, I noticed that too…"

"And I just heard Squall screamin'…"

Now that awoke Quistis up. She sat up, and her head collided to Irvine's nose. She ran to dress herself as the man yelped, holding his bloody nose.

"Why am I always in pain…?" Irvine grumbled as she threw him the clothes. "I'm tired... don' wanna run again… back to bed, pretty…"

**_5. Time to face reality, guys…_**

"I'm going home," said Quistis. Her back was to Irvine, so she didn't see his eyes as they widened.

Irvine jumped up from the bed and grabbed her arm. "You wanna leave me? Now…?"

She batted his hands away as she finished dressing. "Listen, Irv." She looked straight into his eyes. "I know how to have my own happiness now."

"By leavin' me?" He looked really hurt. She hugged him, her hands still holding his face when she released him.

"No. I can be happy anywhere." She looked at Irvine, who now looked anywhere but at her. "Irv, look at me. Irv…"

He looked at her, his eyes full of hurt and sadness.

"Irv… we can be happy anywhere. Happiness belongs to everyone. The only thing you have to do is bring it out. I don't need to stay on this journey anymore. I already know how to be happy now."

"You're leavin' me…" he whispered. "Don' leave me…"

"I'm not. But... You have to find your own happiness, Irv. You can find it on this journey."

"No…" He was ready to cry. "I can't find it if I'm not with you…"

She smiled and pulled his face close to kiss his lips. "Then you have your answer." She released him, turning around to pack her belongings inside her orange backpack. "I'm going. Decide your fate for yourself, Irv."

Irvine watched as she walked out from the door.

From his life.

_Wait… from my life…?_

He blinked. _That's crazy! I won't let her go!_

He quickly dressed, scrambling all his stuff in his leather bag, and fled out the door.

He ran outside and saw Quistis walking toward the presidential office.

_This is my time… I'm gonna find my own happiness…_

_I'll find it with her!_

He smiled as she turned around, smiling at him. She held out her hands to him.

_This is your time, Irvine… Time to create your own happiness…_

-x-

-x—

-x—

-x—

**And…**

**Happiness is when you accept who you really are…**

**When you realize that, you can create your own happiness…**

* * *

-x-

FIN

A/N: Want another Quirvine? Or Squalphie? Or... Zell and Fuu? Tell me ;)


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